My Crazy Boy

Jonathan's 4th birthday has come and gone. It was a wonderful weekend full of family, friends and lots of fun. We went to the Katy Rodeo on Friday night, where Jonathan actually went out and rode in the stick horse race! I was so proud of him for doing it....a few months ago, he would have been too scared. Saturday morning we watched the Katy Rodeo Parade and collected a ridiculous amount of candy and Mardi Gras beads....(side note) Who decided those beads were a necessary "treat" for a family parade? Also, nobody likes Double Bubble....so please, stop throwing it out of your float. Late Saturday afternoon, we transformed our neighborhood park into a Super Hero Birthday Party!! The kids had a great time and I was just happy that my jeans and (Captain America) t-shirt were deemed socially acceptable attire for the hostess. 

My boy is pretty amazing right now. He is kind, smart, loving and brave. At the same time, he is crazy, frustrating, Cranky Pants most days and can scream bloody murder at the drop of a hat. But, most of all, he is strong and healthy. And right now, that is a gift that I am NOT taking for granted. 

My Newest Obsession

Many people (as in....a few) have asked me to share what I am doing to save money at the grocery store and/or Target. Those of you who have heard these stories a million times already, feel free to log off....I can admit that I have been a little annoying with my coupon success stories lately, but I am pretty proud of myself! So... I have a few rules and routines that I have been following over the last month and they seem to be really making a difference in our grocery budget!

1. Grocery circulars come to my house in the mail on Wednesday. Typically, I focus on HEB and Randalls, but if Kroger or Sprouts has an amazing deal, I would be willing to head there. However, so far, they haven't had anything worth going for. I sit down and circle all the great deals, things I think I need, things I might want etc...I then get out my coupons and try to match up as many as possible. THEN I make my meal plan. That has been a big money saver....I plan my meals based on what is on sale or what I have good coupons for. Sometimes this means typing a new cut of meat into Pinterest to find a recipe that I think will work! As far as coupons...We receive the Sunday paper (you can get a Sunday only subscription!) which is where I find a ton of coupons, I print quite a few from this coupon site and Coupon Mom, and I make sure to check the circulars carefully for random coupons.

(A note about Randalls....) Most people write Randalls off because they have typically higher prices. I urge you to look more closely! This week alone, I saved $67 or 44% of my bill! Randalls has a great rewards program online that allows you to automatically add coupons to your Randalls card and receive specialized prices on items you buy regularly. They also put store coupons in their weekly circular. The key here is that they allow you to "stack" coupons. Meaning, I can use a store coupon, a manufacturer coupon and a special personalized price on the same item. Also, they double coupons up to .50 at my store (this varies per store, so check your coupon policy!) So, for example...this week, they had:

Nature Valley Granola Bars on special 3 boxes for $5.

I had a $1.50 off one manufacturer coupon +

2 .50 manufacturer coupons which doubled +

.75 off one Randalls coupon.

= 4.25 off price.

Since I bought 3 boxes, I was allowed to use all 3 coupons and stack the Randalls coupon. I got three boxes for .75! My boys love these bars, so it was a major score! Now, you aren't going to find fabulous deals on everything there. You have to find the deals you can stack or use high value coupons. That being said, you will often find amazing deals on ground beef ($2.99 a pound for lean ground beef this week!) ice cream, soda etc...Just watch!

2. Target. I freaking love Target so much. This is where I first got the coupon bug. First of all, you need to download the Cartwheel app. It provides unadvertised deals on hundreds of things throughout the store. You add the deals you want and then show the barcode on your phone to the checker. There are TONS of deals on Cartwheel. Second, you can stack a Target coupon, manufacturer coupon, and Cartwheel deal. Also, I have a Target Red card (the debit card) which saves me an additional 5% off the total bill. That's a LOT of savings on each item! Also, Target often provides gift cards when you buy a certain number of a specific item. You can't use the gift card on the immediate purchase, but you can use it the same day. I usually just do two transactions so that I can use the gift card on the rest of my items. So, for example....A few weeks ago, I got this amazing deal on shampoo and conditioner....

Loreal Advanced shampoo and Conditioner.

I bought 5 shampoos and 1 conditioner. =$24

3- $5 off 2 Loreal shampoo/conditioner manufacturer coupons

Target Cartwheel 10% off

Target Red car 5% off

Receive a $5 gift card when you buy $20 of Loreal products

Total: $3.00 (and some change) for all 6 products! (which is lower than the normal cost of ONE!)

Also, Target is very good about putting things on clearance and all deals/coupons can be applied to clearance! I have found shampoo, body wash, toothpaste etc....for GREAT deals because they were already half off, plus coupons and Cartwheel deals! So far, I have had no problems with the cashier taking my coupons or not deducting the correct amount, BUT, I have heard that some stores will give you a harder time. That being said....be choosy when you pick a check out line. Look for friendly faces, cashiers you have used before etc...don't go to the teenager who doesn't look like they give a crap or that might be brand new. This seems stupid, but it makes a difference! Also, be kind! Don't be all annoying about your coupons. If you irritate them, they won't help you out if a problem arises.

So....there you have it. Am I an extreme couponer? NO WAY! I have never had a zero balance, but I have gotten a few things for free! I have only done this for a few weeks, but I am hooked. It takes me about an hour a week to organize deals and plan meals, but it is so worth it. I love feeling like I am saving our family money and doing my part to contribute to our car fund!

Observations.

1. My little baby turned two this month and it was tough. Watching your kids grow up is both amazing and yet, totally depressing at the same time. I want him to grow up and be a big, strong boy. But I also want him to be my baby forever. I want to sing him to sleep (he only wants books now) and I want to hear him say he loves me all the time (he usually says "no" when I ask him if he loves me) and I want him to wake up from a nap or in the morning and just want cuddles (now he immediately yells, "watch Cars!!!") I basically want him to stay this little person who sleeps on nap mats covered with bulldozers FOREVER. Blah... Observation....Time moves too fast.

2. Trying to copy birthday parties that you see on Pinterest is both exhausting and expensive. I threw Matthew a Cars birthday party and, while it turned out great, it was exhausting. And I spent more money than I wanted (but lets be real...I am turning so cheap lately, spending ANY money is too much!) Honestly, I do this crap because I want to. I like doing as much as I can to spoil my little guys on their big day and make them feel special. But really.....it's stupid. Matthew didn't really care or notice and none of the other little kids did either. Observation.....This is all for me. Not even for my friends or the other parents....All for me. And that's okay I guess. (I wish I had taken better pictures of the table...the names of the foods were pretty cute!)

3. My parents drove in for the party, as almost all  grandparents do. However, my dad come in the middle of his seriously busy season (he owns a CPA firm) and with terrible cedar fever (they are from Austin) and my mom didn't just show up empty handed....even though she was a guest in MY home, she brought dinner for Saturday night (homemade taco soup!) AND helped make delicious dips for the party, decorate, entertain the boys and get everything clean and ready before our other guests arrived. Observation.....my parents beat your parents.

4. Jonathan is still three. Matthew is now two. For nearly two, very scary months of the year, they are much closer in age than I would prefer. Matthew woke up on his birthday as if the "terrible twos" fairy came to him in a dream and taught him everything he needed to know. Jonathan is still in the throws of the "even more terrible threes." I swear they have competitions every day to see who can be lose their brains first. Observation....those of you with kids closer in age are saints. I don't know how you do it.

5. Last week, some of my closest girlfriends and I committed to hold each other accountable....in life, in our marriages, as parents, as Christians. We have been a group for years, but getting together and actively praying for each other has often taken a back seat to everyday life. But last week, we were honest with each other and all decided to truly hold each other accountable about meeting face to face. I think this is CRAZY important. It is easy to say, "I'll be praying!" over email or text.....but there is something so powerful about praying for each other face to face. You know, the whole, "where two or more are gathered in my name..." thing. Observation....I have the greatest friends in the world and I am pretty sure they will slap me in the face if I try to say, "I'm really tired tonight, I can't meet." And that's exactly why I love them. 

6. Observation...not working on Monday is so incredibly amazing. It gives me time to stay up late and write blog posts :) I leave you with some cute pictures of cute kids :) Oh, and another observation....I eat too much birthday cake.

Confessions....that prove I have some serious issues.

Let's just jump right in, shall we?

1. About 2/3 of the way through my school day, I started looking for my keys (which are connected to my wallet....) Not sure why I felt like I needed them, I just did. After a thorough search of my bag did not turn up the keys, I started to worry. I figured maybe I had locked them in the car, so I walked to the parking lot to search for them...mentally walking through my conversation with AAA about why I needed them to come out and open my car. The good news? I hadn't locked them in the car....the doors were all unlocked. The bad news? The keys were still in the ignition. With my wallet hanging from them. With all the doors unlocked. All. Day. Long.

2. This week has been tough. Going back to school after a long break was really tough for my boys and they have been exhausted every night. But Tuesday? Tuesday was a freaking doozie. The boys were in child care at the church while I had inservice, and Jonathan didn't take a nap. And boy, does brother still need a nap. So by the time 7:30 rolled around (and Zack still wasn't home) we were all losing our brains. I am ashamed to admit that Jonathan and I had a scream-off. Face to face, loud as we could be, both so stinkin' mad at each other...For the record, I won. He couldn't hold a straight face. Amateur.

3. Monday night I ate chips and dip for dinner. With a piece of cake for dessert. In my defense, the chips were Veggie Chips. Which are totally, 100% healthy and basically count like negative calories. Oh, and they are a legitimate vegetable serving. So...bam. (for some of my pyscho, health nut friends...I am being sarcastic....you get that, right?)

4. My New Year Goal of being healthy and losing weight hasn't really gotten off the best start. Please see #3 for reasons why I say this....

5. My other goals however, have been going well! I have been trying to touch base with at least 2 friends each week and let them know I am thinking of them. I am learning (in the 1 week this little project has been going on) that I really like to email/text with people, but I am not as easily persuaded to make plans or commit to getting together. I crave relationships and prayer partners, but not necessarily hanging out all the time. I am also learning that I am incredibly selfish in this department. If something is my idea or fits perfectly into my schedule, I am all for it. But if hanging out means I have to rearrange things, miss time with my family, stay up later than normal or get out of my comfort zone, I am not as cool with it. Thus, the goal for the new year.

6. I am really depressed that my book series (The Yada Yada Prayer Group and the Yada Yada House of Hope series) are done. Like, really depressed. I feel like I have no closure from good friends who moved away without warning. I need a movie. Or like 5 more books. Hmm...I wonder if there is a correlation between this nerdy side of me (getting too attached to book characters) and my issues stated in #5.

7. Finally, I have done AWESOME saving money so far! I am killing it in the coupon department, especially at Target. Today, I triple stacked coupons and save like $4.50 on toilet paper. I was seriously excited. Also, I scored 3 boxes of Multigrain Cheerios for .88  a piece. I was so proud of myself I made Jonathan and Matthew give me high fives. Yes, I will FORCE my kids to be proud of my skills.  Mama needs a minivan.

Hope you guys all had a great week! And what the heck? Hardly ANYBODY gave me money saving tips. I know you guys have some....hook a girl up!!!

Things I will totally (maybe) do this year....

Every year, I have the same idea that if I share my goals publicly, I will be held accountable. That hasn't seemed to work yet, but maybe this year.....Really, it's kind of y'alls fault....right? For not holding me accountable? Yes, let's go with that.

And now, my goals for 2014!

1. This is our year of saving money. Sometime in the very near future, we will either need a new car totally or need to put a lot of money into my current ghetto ride. So, if I have any chance of getting a new one, I need to save, save, save!!! Our goal is to save the equivalent of  an estimated car payment each month. We will have it auto drafted into our savings account, so we can't forget or ignore it. This is where y'all come in....what are your best tricks for saving money? I am accepting any and all awesome suggestions. 

2. I need to be more intentional in my friendships. Call my friends more, email more, actually invite people over....Actually accept invitations. I have a few sweet friends who used to invite me to do stuff all the time and even though I TOTALLY wanted to, it just never worked out. I was always having to say no. Now, they don't even try. I guess I wouldn't either. But I need to figure that crap out. Figure out a way to make it all work. I like friends. My goal will be to call/email 2 friends each week simply to say hello and check in. 

3. Lose 10 pounds....blah, blah, blah....(but for real...) The goal will be to lose it by going to the gym/being active at least 4 times a week. Once it is off, I have to keep it off. If it comes back, it doesn't count!

4. I really need to be more restrictive with the TV time around here. It's just SO much easier to let them watch Cars (for the millionth time) while I am trying to make dinner or do chores. Hopefully it will be a nice spring and I can kick them out to the back yard more often! The goal will be a certain amount of TV time each day (haven't decided on a number) and then it gets turned off.

5. I will actually start reading my Bible. I should be doing this already. I should have done this a long time ago. Yeah, yeah....I get it. It's just not something I do. And, to be completely honest, it's going to be a challenge. I know this makes me sound awful, but....it's just...blerg. I will do it. Goal-read scripture or a Bible study book for at least 10 minutes a day.

6. Learn to pray. I say some really awesome prayers at bedtime....but on my own? Throughout the day? Giving thanks in all circumstances? Laying my concerns at His feet? Um....not so much. I have recently been reading a book series called, The Yada Yada Prayer Group (super lame title, I know...) and it has honestly challenged me to learn to pray. To pray scripture. To praise Him first. To go to Him immediately with everything. Not sure how to measure this....I just need to work on it.

So......there you have it! My goals for 2014! Honestly, I am excited for this year. We have nothing major on the books, no huge transitions or anything. It's just going to be a year of contentment and counting my blessings. Or, so I hope :) HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

So, this is Christmas....And what have you done?

Anybody get the Celine Dion reference? Oh man, I love me some Celine Dion Christmas....

I decided early on in December to just ignore this space for a little while. To be honest, I just didn't want to deal with posting anything....But I want to make sure that our awesome holiday season is documented, so away we go....

Our Elf made his first visit to our home this year and he was a big hit! Not surprisingly, the mornings when he made a mess or got into trouble were the biggest winners. Also, the morning that Elfie waged war on the dinosaurs (stupid Elfie...who goes up against dinosaurs?) There were a few mornings when Elfie didn't show up because Jonathan jacked with him the day before (for those not well versed in Elf rules...you are not allowed to touch him or he loses his ability to fly.) or he was gone on one of a few trips to the Elf emergency room because Jonathan "tried to help him" and in the process, knocked him around a little.

We were lucky enough to get invited to lots of fun Christmas parties, Christmas play groups, dinners with friends etc... (I know, you are probably jealous cause we are so popular. But, before you lose your head, let me be honest and admit that most of those parties were with the same people, work engagements or family....) Either way, it was fun to celebrate so much!

We made lots of cookies and gingerbread men, so Jonathan is now ready for a job in the Sam's bakery department (he says they have the best cookies). Let me just say, his icing skills are stellar. Especially with bright blue icing...

For Christmas, Aunt Katie and my parents came to celebrate with us and Zacks parents. We spent Christmas eve playing, eating, working in the yard and playing outside. We merged our family traditions and had tamales (me!) and fajitas (Zack!) for dinner that night....It was delicious, but I will NEVER understand people that don't like good tamales....y'all are weirdos. Before the boys went to bed, we put out cookies, opened new Christmas jammies, sprinkled carrots in the yard for the reindeer and watched the sky for the Big Guy. Jonathan was really getting into it :) Once they fell asleep, Santa came ;)

Christmas morning was all kinds of awesome and full of tradition overload. Stockings, gifts, breakfast casserole, hot chocolate, more gifts etc...It was absolutely perfect and made this girl's cheesy little heart VERY happy. I LOVE the picture of Matthew playing with Buzz Lightyear....check out all the cars in his hand...he has walked around with those cars since that morning. EVERY WHERE HE GOES. And Aunt Katie freaking won Christmas this year with her gift....a Power Wheels Jeep. The boys went nuts. They have asked to go drive it about a million times a day since then. Way to go Kates, you win.

Finally, this past weekend, we headed to Austin to celebrate with my entire extended family. For the first time in YEARS, we were all together and it was so great. Jonathan and Matthew were able to play with cousins they rarely see....some of which had never even met Matthew! We even broke out the old family videos.....*sigh*....I had some seriously rough looking years around 8th grade. Like, for serious. ROUGH. But, being the big person I am (no pun intended in regards to said videos....) I ignored my craziness and totally enjoyed watching my Grandma Honey, Papa Max and my sister...all of which have passed. There is something magical about hearing their voices again after so many years.

 (Sorry for the oddly placed pictures. I will forever be frustrated with stupid blogger...) 

So, all in all....an awesome holiday season. I am excited about 2014 and all the fun stuff we have coming up. Next on the calendar...Matthew turns 2!!!! (I will have a whole post dedicated to that freak out in a few more days...2 years old? WHAT?!) And, to give you an example of just how exhausted everybody is after this crazy season.....

Things Lately....

It's been a while, so let's just bullet point this sucker. (And please excuse the random bullets....what the heck with that?! Why can't I figure out where those come from!? Blerg.)

• We started a new family tradition on Tuesday...we watched Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer, drank hot chocolate and let the boys decorate the tree (at least the bottom half!) Jonathan LOVED the hot chocolate and has asked for it multiple time since....obviously. Who doesn't love lukewarm hot chocolate in a sippy cup? (And doesn't Matthew look like Linus, carrying his blanket around with him?)

• Thanksgiving was awesome. We went to Austin and spent lots of good time with my family. One big change was that the boys both slept in twin beds in the same room. I was totally paranoid that they would scream and wake each other up all night long...but they did amazing! We all ate lots of food, played around, read books....it was just...so freaking great.

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• On Friday, Zack and I left the boys at my parents and we headed home for a relaxing weekend. It was really nice, but man, I missed my boys. Like, a lot. And not in an "oh, I better say I miss them so I don't sound like a jerky mom" kind of way. But in a legit way. Kind of surprised me actually. While they were gone, I got LOTS of projects done around the house! I finished the Christmas tree, decorated my mantle and re-designed the wall in my living room! Turns out you can actually accomplish a whole heap of stuff without two little boys under your feet. I think I ran like 1,000 errands on Saturday AND saw a movie!

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• Tomorrow I will head to La Grange to meet my parents and pick up the boys! I can't wait to see them and for them to see all the fun Christmas decorations we have put up....Oh! And our Elf will be waiting for them too!  We have LOTS of fun Christmas stuff planned for the next 3 weeks...Zoo Lights at the Houston Zoo, the Children's Show at Second Baptist, Christmas parties, school parties, school Christmas pageants.....I am seriously trying to cram as much Christmas spirit into the next 3 1/2 weeks as possible! These kids WILL LOVE CHRISTMAS! ;)